The Mortal Doppleganger
by Soft Sand
Summary: If you want to be with someone forever, you have to live forever.
1. Prologue

**Hello everyone. My name is Ste but you can call me Soft Sand if you want. My story is based on both the book and the series, but I chose to put it here because the series section is a little more crowded. I won't be following the storyline of either the book or series because, well, that's how fanfics work. This is my first ever fanfic, so let me know what you think. I love constructive criticism as well as compliments, so really tell me what you think. I don't really give much away to my readers, but I'll tell you this, expect to see a lot of Bonnie, Caroline and of course, Elena and the vampire brothers. I'm sorry if my idea is similar to other people's fanfics. Hmm, if it is, would that make it a fanfic based on a fanfic? Interesting. **

**And of course, I own none of the following. **

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The Mortal Doppelganger

7th of September

_It's way too early to be awake, but I've given up trying to sleep._

_I wanted to be well rested in preparation for my first day back at high school, but my brain is refusing to shut down. I can't escape my fears for even a moment. Lately I've been pushing so hard to fit back into society, but it feels like the harder I push, the more I'm rejected. _

_I hate feeling like I no longer belong anywhere. I feel uncomfortable in my own skin, lost in every sense of the word. I have spent my entire life in Mystic Falls, and a majority of that time inside this very bedroom, so why do I feel like a total stranger here? Why does my same old furniture and bed feel like they belong to someone else? _

_I know the answer to that. They DO belong to someone else. A former me. A happier me. The girl who used to get crazily excited whenever she hung out with her friends and used to wake up and not wonder how difficult it would be to get through the day ahead, or the girl who didn't always replay the same memory whenever she closed her eyes._

_I will never be able to block it out. My worst memory burns inside my mind like a beacon, pinned to the surface of reality as a constant reminder that my world has been irreversibly turned upside down. I'm trapped inside the same scene of my past, forced to relive it again and again; my parents screaming as the car's wheels lock into place, turning the car into a deadly path; the sound of the tires screeching on the road and the car breaking through the wall of the bridge, the feel of the car shuddering as it collides with the surface of the lake and the sight of it slowly sinking into the abyss. But most vividly, I can remember waking up on the lake's bank with a stranger standing over me, a sympathetic, empty look in his eyes that told me the result of the crash: my parents didn't survive. _

_Four months later and I am still sat here, unaccustomed to their absence. My mother used to tell me that she would never leave Mystic Falls because "home is where the heart is". Her rule no longer applies to me. This is my home, but this isn't where my heart is. I don't know where it is anymore. Perhaps that is why I no longer fit in anywhere or why Aunt Jenna, my brother Jeremy or my best friend Bonnie—people I have known forever—don't feel as comforting to me as they used to. _

_In a few hours I have to meet the crowd outside school before we begin the new year. They haven't seen me since June, so I'm wondering what they will be expecting. I'm scared that if I show the slightest hint of a frown, they will all think 'it's just the same old Elena, miserable as always'. I'm tired of smiling at everyone and telling them that I'm okay, or to stop worrying about me because I'm fine. I cannot lie to them anymore. I have to learn how to get through each day without using this charade as a barrier to block them all out. I'm not convincing any of them. They can all see how much I have changed, and as much as I hate it, I can too._

Elena Gilbert clamped her pen inside her blue, silk covered diary before shoving it and her torch under her pillows. She leapt off her bed, landing clumsily in front of an oval mirror which stood beside her bedroom window on claw-like feet. She pulled open the drapes, expecting light to flood in and brighten her room, but the sun was only half visible from behind the opposite row of Victorian houses. There wasn't enough light coming through the window to allow a justifying reflection of her, so she hastened to flip the light switch beside her bedroom door and hurried back to her original position.

She was truly glorious. Her long, naturally straight, brunette hair always looked and felt as if she had just walked out of a salon. She inherited her father's facial features. Her eyes were large and brown, neatly bordered by thin brows and her full lips were in perfect proportion to her jaw line.

The more she stared at herself, the more her usual frown reappeared and ruined her beautiful face. There was something different, she finally decided, moving closer to the mirror. She ran slender fingers across her flawless skin, searching for any woe-induced lines. Once she was satisfied that she had avoided this potentially devastating bullet, she parted sections of her hair, carefully probing for grey hairs. She found nothing.

Elena drew back from the mirror, realizing the differentness. It was the way in which the new Elena held herself. She no longer stood tall, hand on hip, her chin slightly raised like the old Elena used to. Instead her shoulders were drooping and her arms dangled awkwardly by her sides as if she didn't quite know what to do with them.

Horrified by how much her slouching subtracted from her height, she straightened her back and experimentally rested her left hand on her hip. She smiled at the new reflection of herself standing in her old pose, but it didn't linger on her face for longer than a few seconds.

_This just isn't me anymore_, she thought sadly, allowing her arm to fall back into its original position. Her gaze wandered over to her bed where the corner of her diary protruded from underneath her pillows. _I really don't belong here anymore . . ._

"Couldn't sleep either?" The soft voice startled Elena. She whirled around and saw her brother Jeremy leaning against the door jam, holding the door open. He also took after their father. He had dark hair and eyes and was an average height. Jeremy was fifteen, two years younger than Elena. He drew his head back sheepishly, "Sorry, I didn't mean to just barge in . . . I heard you moving around in here and . . . I couldn't sleep either."

"It's okay," Elena told him immediately, sitting on her bed and indicating with a wave of her hand that he should sit, too. How long had it been since they last talked, she pondered, failing to recall a time they had last exchanged more than a passing pleasantry. She used to be closer to him before the car crash, but they had since grown apart. Their parents' death wasn't a topic they discussed without the company of Aunt Jenna, and any other topic always seemed to be overshadowed by their shared burden of mourning. These days it was almost impossible to comment on something as meaningless as the weather without both of their eyes meeting and silently confirming the continuance of their omnipresent pain.

Jeremy sat beside her on the bed and stared at her questioningly. "Elena," he said slowly, choosing his words tactfully. "You moved your bed."

His voice went higher at the end of his statement which made it sound more like a question. She looked to the spot where her double bed used to be; directly in front of the window where the light could shine through in the morning and brighten her face. She had recently grown sick of always being so visible and out in the open, so she pushed her bed away from the window and into a corner where it was darker and more enclosed. It didn't occur to her at the time that anyone would think anything of it, but the way in which Jeremy now sat there summing her up with calculating eyes made her understand that her actions had been extremely transparent. Why did that anger her so?

"Yeah . . ." she mumbled, continuing in a harder tone. "I guess I did."

"You can't deal with it like this forever, Elena," he said quietly, keeping his gaze fixed on his knees. "You can't just hide in here and pretend it didn't happen. You have to continue with your life—we both do."

"Is that what you're doing?" she questioned him, failing to maintain an even tone.

Jeremy sighed and drifted over to the window. He stared out of it with unseeing eyes, his back to her. Elena's eyes narrowed into a scowl as she watched her brother, waiting for a response. He answered her after a moment of silence, his voice barely audible. "I'm trying."

Elena instantly dug her nails into her palms and before she knew it, her thoughts were slipping between her teeth in enraged hisses. "I would hardly call getting high every night with your _friends _"trying". Perhaps you should assess your own life before you tell me how I should live mine."

_Crack! _Jeremy snarled demonically and slammed his fist into her bedroom window. Shards of glass were propelled in all directions, raining down onto the drive outside and inside onto her wooden floor boards. Elena gasped as he withdrew his fist and threw her an infuriated glare before marching out of her room without a second's regret.

She sat frozen in fear of her brother's display or rage, her mouth open in horror and her breath trapped in her chest. Once he had pulled the door shut behind him, she regained enough control of her body to spring off of her bed and stop in front of the mess Jeremy had made.

A few fragments of glass remained in the window frame, but most had fallen outside or onto her bedroom floor, where they now lay glimmering in the early sunlight. She didn't care that Jeremy had broken her window. She was angry with herself for upsetting him. She didn't want to be Jeremy's enemy yet she knew that they were no longer compatible as siblings. The proof of that was lying in front of her, waiting to be swept up. It was impossible to be in a room with Jeremy for more than two minutes without something bad happening, be it his fault or, as she thought in this case, hers.

_He was only concerned about you_, she realized, biting down on her lip. The impact of this thought instantly made her nauseous. Tears welled in her eyes, blurring her vision. The image of the broken window swam before her, but she was no longer seeing it. She was beginning to grasp what had just happened and the implications of it. She had not only upset her brother, it was much worse than that. She had ruined the moment she had been waiting to happen for months. Her brother had made an effort to reconnect with her, and she threw it in his face. She knew he would not bother her again, but that wasn't what she wanted at all.

Her eyes snapped over to the mirror, and this time she felt truly disgusted with the new Elena. She hated everything about her.

Suddenly her attention was stolen by something glinting in the corner of the mirror. She looked behind her and noticed that Jeremy had left behind a speckled trail of blood, but before she could feel another twinge of remorse, something large and black flashed by her window, rustling the curtains and causing her to jump in surprise. She wasn't quite sure, but she thought it looked like a bird.


	2. Chapter One: Part One

**Hello everyone. I apologize for the lateness of this update; the first draft of this was absolutely appalling and it took me a while to . . . revamp it, so to speak. ;) I also apologize for any typos you may find, I couldn't bring myself to make my beta read through it again. Also, thank you Stephii for advertising my story and being my beta. That means a lot to me. **

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The predator bolted through the forest at a breakneck pace, virtually undetectable to human senses. He weaved around trees, ducked under branches and vaulted over boulders, always moving at an impossible speed yet barely disturbing the foliage. The uneven terrain was much too challenging for humans to trek across, but he made it look more than easy. Fun, even. Obstacles were inexistent in his world. Nothing could hold him back.

The sun was rising behind the predator, barely above the treetops_._ Even when it would reach its highest point in the sky, the very middle of the forest would remain in absolute darkness. The air would forever remain wintry and slightly damp.

_This is the safest place for me_, the predator recalled, reminiscent of his old hunting grounds. A wicked smile broadened his lips, curling more at one side. _At least it would be if the sun affected me like others of my kind. Sucks to be them._

He had been following a woman's scent for little over a minute. It was a floral fragrance, rather like rose oil—extremely potent and therefore easy to track. It had led him away from town, and fortunately, to a more private place to feed: into the darkest part of the forest. Although he cared not for prying eyes, the predator needed to maintain his secret. The longer everyone assumed his human identify was genuine, the more effectively his plan would work.

That was the only matter of importance to him: his plan. It was the only reason he had returned to Mystic Falls.

Suddenly, the wind changed direction, bringing a different scent to the predator. He halted instantly and threw back his head, dragging as much air into his nasal passages as he could. His striking blue eyes became bloodshot as he indulged in the new scent and the skin and veins beneath them darkened, tinted red by the color of his own blood.

The new scent was similar to the first . . . _but sweeter_, he concluded. Strangely, he could still smell traces of the rose oil, but it wasn't as strong with the new human. Had both of them been together? That seemed like the most obvious explanation to him, yet something about the situation seemed out of place. The humans were now so far apart—almost in opposite directions.

As if to tease him, another breeze hit the predator's face, bringing with it another sample of the second human's scent. He moaned with pleasure.

The thirst was quickly taking control of him. The inside of his mouth was on fire. His tongue felt like it was encased in sand. Every single thought running through his mind became overshadowed by the taste of the new scent, until finally, the oddity of two humans walking separately through the most secluded part of Mystic Falls didn't bother him in the slightest. All he could feel was lust. Desire. It burned inside of him, driving him wild, numbing his skin, until finally, it was all that remained.

He was a monster controlled by his only need.

Changing course, the predator sprinted between two trees and up a steep incline to his right. Once he reached the peak of the hill, he summoned all of his strength and bounded off of it, high up into the sky, way above the forest. The wind whipped his black hair back as he became airborne for a solid three seconds. He flew over a deep valley and a wide expanse of trees before falling back to earth, where he expertly landed inside a grassy clearing, directly in front of his prey.

As he materialized in front of her, the young girl fell back, tearing her white dress on a jagged rock. Her small, watery eyes were wide with expectation and her pouty lips were quivering in fear. She was no older than seven. She wore a brown coat over a summer gown—hardly the attire to wear in such a freezing part of the forest. But the predator was unfazed by the unlikelihood of a young girl venturing alone and so far away from town in inappropriate clothing.

_No. She isn't alone_, he remembered, struggling to think coherently. The control of the thirst was stronger than ever. _The woman was here, not long ago. I can smell her scent on the girl._

The girl pushed the ground with her hands and feet, sliding herself away from him. The predator closed the distance between them in two strides, his lips parting as he did so. His canines grew larger and sharper; protruding into pearly fangs in anticipation of the blood he was a moment away from tasting. A content growl rumbled in his chest. He bent over the girl, clamped one hand over her throat and lifted her off the ground. She dangled helplessly in the air, staring directly into the monster's bloodthirsty eyes, but she made no sound.

"I don't usually like them so young," the predator told the girl, bringing her closer to his body so he could whisper in her ear, "but you smell oh-so delicious. It's a shame there isn't more of you."

The girl's body relaxed and her eyes narrowed into a portrayal of anger. The predator became frustrated with her sudden lack of fear. He usually received a more entertaining response from adults!

"Aren't you at least gonna scream?" The predator toyed with the girl, shaking her from side to side and causing her legs to sway accordingly. "You could call for help or something? I know you're not alone. Whoever left you here made a dick move."

Her soft voice cut through the air, too calm to match the dark scene. She spoke with a hint of a smile. "My mommy will kill you."

He laughed at her words, surprised but amused all the same. "I think she's a little too late."

His eyes were redder than ever as he sunk his fangs so far into her neck that they scraped the bone beneath. Warm blood gushed into his mouth, trickling across his tongue and down his throat. The girl's body twitched as he sucked at the gash he had made in her flesh until her body was almost completely drained.

Once his thirst was fully quenched he tossed the girl aside and raised his head, inhaling slowly, licking his lips clean to savour the taste. The girl lay motionless in the grass, her dress stained with crimson. He carelessly stepped over her body and exited the clearing in a blur of color.

Minutes after his departure, the woman—the first human he had been tracking—stepped into the glade and froze, taking in the sight of her too-pale daughter.

Her screams of anguish and rage echoed for a great distance, but the vampire was already too far away to hear them.


	3. Chapter One: Part Two

**This update flowed out of me rather naturally; it was like peeing only more productive. **

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Aunt Jenna bustled about the kitchen, singlehandedly fixing a rather extravagant breakfast for the Gilbert children. Empty grocery bags were strewn across the kitchen table, surrounding an open cookbook and a white box tied off with a silver ribbon. A collection of unusual smells—mostly issuing from the stove and the coffee machine—hung in the air, almost intoxicating the chef. She paused several times, mentally debating whether or not to open a window or to allow the aroma to drift throughout the house and entice the children into coming downstairs to investigate.

Before she could decide, Elena slowly stepped into the room, her face a portrayal of amusement and curiosity. She was wearing a silk, lavender nighty, and her eyes were heavy with fatigue. Her hair had remained poker straight even after the little amount of sleep she had managed to gain. Aunt Jenna watched her take a seat at the table, enthusiastically awaiting her niece's reaction to her offbeat attempt at cooking something more complicated than toast.

"Are you cooking steak?" Elena asked her aunt incredulously, sniffing the air around her.

Jenna, feigning nonchalance, used a spatula to flip a 6oz steak from a frying pan onto a plate before hastily decorating it with an assortment of salad, and then finally, she set the meal down onto the table in front of Elena.

"Sure," Jenna replied, tossing back her wavy blonde hair and revealing her rather flustered cheeks.

Elena laughed as her aunt handed her a knife and fork, but before she began to eat, she shook her head in disbelief and fired another question at her. "In the morning?"

"Why not?" Aunt Jenna shrugged and poured herself a mug of coffee before taking a seat beside her.

"Well, you can't cook," Elena admitted, cutting the steak in half and shooting a furtive glance at the incision she had made. The middle of the steak was pink with a hint of red. Medium rare, the way she preferred it. It looked and smelled delicious. She couldn't fault her aunt's work. "This is . . . impressive!"

"I'll have you know that I am quite talented in the kitchen when I want to be", said Jenna, holding one hand to her chest in mock-surprise whilst using the other to slide an empty grocery bag over the cookbook she had been taking instructions from.

"The other day I had to stop you from frying an egg with the shell still on!" Elena reminded her, trying and failing not to laugh again.

"Okay, I had help," Aunt Jenna admitted, smiling as she swept the grocery bag off of her new cookbook. "I just picked it up at the mall, along with this."

She pushed the white box towards Elena and gave her an encouraging nod. Elena picked up the parcel, frowning as she did so. She shot her aunt a questioning look before pulling off the silver ribbon and lifting the lid.

"Oh, Aunt Jenna, it's beautiful!" Elena pulled out an article of clothing and held it against her body. It was a dark grey, fitted blouse with short sleeves and a high collar. "It's very . . . chic. Thank you."

"I figured that you would need something nice to wear on your first day back at school," Jenna explained, too quickly, before taking a small sip of her coffee to hide her flustered expression. Elena stared at her thoughtfully, convinced that she was up to something.

And then it clicked. Elena looked from her uneaten meal to her new blouse and then back to Jenna, all the while trying to calculate a possible explanation for her aunt's mysterious behaviour.

"You want something, don't you?" Elena accused her aunt, delicately placing the blouse back inside the box so she could fold her arms. Her aunt's face scrunched up in defeat. "Come on," Elena continued playfully, "out with it."

"Okay okay!" her aunt said in a high-pitched voice, shrugging with guilt. "I heard you and Jeremy arguing earlier . . . and I heard your window smash and . . . I just want to bring back some peace inside this house. I thought it would be nice if we all sat down and had something different for breakfast, is that so bad?"

Elena hung her head in shame. Aunt Jenna sensed that she should wait for her to speak in her own time, so she sat in silence, idly dragging one of her long fingers around the rim of her mug. It was amazing how quickly the atmosphere had changed within the kitchen. The mood had rapidly switched from light and humorous to solemn and awkward. Elena knew that she was mostly to blame.

After a while, Elena spoke again, in a soft, sombre voice, her head still bowed over her plate, "I don't deserve any of this, Aunt Jenna. The argument earlier was entirely my fault, and the window, too. Jeremy just wanted to check on me, but . . . I guess I didn't let him. I was a total bitch."

Jenna moved her chair closer to Elena and wrapped both of her arms around her. "Don't worry about it too much," she said soothingly, holding her niece's head to her chest. "I'm sure he knows that you didn't mean to upset him. You can be rather hard on each other sometimes, I wish I knew how to make you guys work it out. "

"I never wanted it to be this way." Elena said, her voice muffled from Jenna's tight embrace. "Mom and Dad would have wanted us to look out for each other, and that's what I want, too. I want me and Jeremy to go back to the way we were. I don't want this."

"You can make it up to him later," Jenna reassured her, continuing in a more authoritative tone. "But before that, I want you to focus on your school work. You took a few days off before your summer break. You need to catch up."

Jenna loosened her arms, allowing Elena to sit back up. She wasn't crying, but her red eyes and trembling voice were indications of her holding back tears. "I guess you're right . . . " Elena stood up, sliding her chair back. "I'm going to get ready. I don't feel very hungry any more . . . sorry. "

"Here, you better take this," Jenna placed the lid back on the white box which contained the blouse and handed it to her. "And see if you can get Jeremy to come down here and eat this steak."

Elena took the box from her. It felt as if it weighed a lot more than it should, and she wondered if that had anything to do with her feeling as though she didn't deserve it.

As she climbed the stairs, Elena couldn't help but feel that her Aunt Jenna had barely helped her. Although she always meant well, Aunt Jenna had never been good at the whole parenting thing. Not like her mother used to be. Her mother would have known exactly what to do. She would have forced the two of them together, and remind them both that they should always look out for one another regardless of any circumstances.

Elena promised herself that she would make it up to her brother before school, and with this in mind, she walked along the upstairs hallway, pausing in front of Jeremy's bedroom door whilst forming an apology in her head.

She knocked twice. With no answer, she pushed the door open and poked her head inside. His room was empty, but stranger still, his bed was made and his drapes were drawn. It was as if he had already completed his morning routine, which didn't make any sense to her. It was much too early. She closed the door and checked the next room, the bathroom, but he wasn't there, either.

Her stomach tightened as a heavy wave of remorse surged through her. Fresh tears formed in her eyes, so she quickly wiped them away on the back of her hand before they could stream across her face. As she made her way to her room, she hugged the white box to her chest and sighed, wondering if Jeremy's early journey to school had anything to do with her.


End file.
